


when it rains it pours

by orphan_account



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Asgard (Marvel), Frequent updates, Loki’s sister, Longish chapters, Marvel Norse Lore, Multi, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Thor has a sister, Thor’s sister, Tony Stark Has A Heart, chapter names may or may not be harry styles songs, fight me, no beta we die like men, so basically we’re ignoring thanos, some dialogue and actions will be taken out of the movie because not everything is different, tags to be added as it’s written
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:41:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23422582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: what if thor and loki had a sister (other then hela)? oh and soulmate shenanigans
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Betty Ross, Frigga | Freyja/Odin (Marvel), Happy Hogan/Pepper Potts, Howard Stark/Maria Stark, Sif/Thor (Marvel), Tony Stark/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 42





	1. golden

**975 A.D  
Asgard **

The sound of servants scurrying about in the halls and murmuring amongst themselves is what made the castle feel alive in preparation for the arrival of the newest addition to the royal family. The city of Asgard have been preparing for this day ever since the queen and king made their announcement; music played in the streets and everyone filled the streets in good spirits. The best bards in all of the seven realms had converged on the city, writing new music for the babe before its birth.   
  
Nobles from all seven realms had also arrived for the celebration days in advance, not knowing if any kingdom would have the honor of having one of its citizens be the soulmate of the new Asgardian royalty. The eldest prince, Thor, had found his soulmate in a noble Asgardian girl named Sif and the name of the soulmate of the youngest prince, Loki, had yet to appear on his arm.

The instant that the queen went into labor the castle was a hub of activity. Healers and servants were dashing to a fro to help the queen get through the process as quickly as possible while the princes waited in the room beyond. The king was at his soulmate wife's side, guiding her through it just as he had done before with the help of the best healers in the land.   
  
“Mother thinks the baby is a girl” young Thor says, nervously looking over at his brother. 

The pair of them were so close in age they were practically twins, neither of them remembering the castle being in such a state. 

They were sitting on separate couches in the room outside of the castles delivery room. Thor was looking at the door to the delivery room with an anxious look on his face while Loki was reading a spell book that he was recently given by their mother, something she told him to study whenever he had the chance.

“Yes, and Father wants a boy” Loki responds.

”What do you think it is?” Thor asks.

”I don’t care, I just wish to retire to my chambers” Loki says mournfully.

Already living in his brothers shadow, Loki has a gut feeling that his younger sibling will eclipse him sometime in their life. He was used to being second best, in terms of their parents favor, but third place?

”Don’t be so glum, brother, this is a happy time for our family” Thor responds, crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

A short but piercing scream came from the other side of the door, making both of the brothers jump up in their seats. Loki looks up from his book, momentarily, with a concerned look on his face.

”Whatever you say, brother” Loki says.

Silence falls between the brothers; Thor’s gaze still on the golden door and Loki’s on his mother’s book.

~~~*~~~

After what seems like hours, in Thor’s opinion, the doors to the delivery room open and a couple healers walk out. As they walk by, Loki closes and sets his book aside. A few servants walk out as well, none of them giving the two princes a second glance as they walk by. 

Thor nervously stands and walks towards the delivery room door, Loki following him shortly after. They can see no evidence that there was recently the delivery of a child in the room, other then the queen lying on the bed holding a babe in her arms. The king beckons them over with a wave of his hands, not taking his eyes off of his wife.

The brothers walk over quietly, smiling at their mother when she catches their eye. The babe in her arms is asleep, nestled against her mothers chest without a care in the world.

”Boys, meet your new sister Asta”


	2. adore you

**May 29, 1970  
** **Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America, Midgard**

The everyday hustle and bustle of the Manhattan hospital carried on around the delivery room. Somewhere a radio was playing and there was possibly a TV on as well but Howard Stark wasn’t paying any attention to any of that. He was looking at his wife, her face scrunched up in pain and concentration as she pushed. She was currently squeezing his hand so hard he thought that she was going to break something but he couldn’t find it in himself to detach from her.

Maria was giving birth to their child, the least Howard could do is deal with his hand temporarily being in pain. She looked up at him between pushes and gave him a tired smile, sweat sheen on her forehead. Howard hated to see her, his soulmate, like that but there wasn’t exactly a lot he could do. She would be perfectly fine within the next half hour, if they’re lucky, and they would have their first child as a result.   
  
Some people didn’t have soulmates or they never ended up finding theirs so Howard cherished every moment he had with Maria, always telling her that he was making up for the time that they didn’t have together. His parents weren’t soulmates, they married for financial reasons and ended up having him, so Howard believed that he was lucky to even have one. 

”You're doing amazing, honey” Howard says, smiling back down at her.

”Push, Mrs. Stark, push” The doctor ordered sternly.

Maria broke Howard’s gaze and pushed, an abrupt shriek leaving her mouth. Howard could see out of the corner of his eyes that the doctor and nurses had started to move, getting ready for the baby to fully come out he guessed. He had made an agreement to himself that he wouldn’t look, as being in the room was already making him nauseous, so he didn’t take his eyes off of his wife’s face.   
  
“One more push, Maria” One of the nurses said kindly.

Maria’s face scrunched up in pain once again as she pushed with all of her might, biting down a scream as it crept up her throat. Howard caressed her hand with his thumb in a reassuring motion. 

A slick sound comes from the end of the table, followed by the cries of a newborn baby, and the doctor and nurses burst into a whirlwind of motion. Howard and Maria share a smile as they know that the worst is over, that they’re parents now. Maria’s grip lets up on Howard’s hand and he lets out a breathe he didn’t know that he was holding in.

”Well, Mr. and Mrs. Stark, it’s a boy” The doctor says happily as he cut the umbilical cord. 

Howard and Maria watched as the doctor wrapped their baby boy up, pausing as he looked at his small wrist, before bringing him over to them. He places the baby in Maria’s arms, causing the baby to stir and look up at his mother with big brown eyes.  
  
“Does he....have a mark?” Maria asks worriedly. 

“Yeah, weird name though” The doctor comments.

Maria frowned and unwrapped the baby just enough so both she and Howard could see the name on his wrist. 

_Asta Odindottir_

~~~*~~~

A sharp pain overtook Asta’s arm, causing her to drop the practice sword in her hand in some sort of spasm. The wood clatters to the ground, garnering the attention of her brothers and their friends. Sif, who was standing a few feet in front of her, was at her side in an instant with a worried expression on her face. The whole practice room had fallen silent, even Hogan and Fandral had stopped joking around in the corner of the room.

”Asta? Are you okay?” She asks.

”I’m f-fine, just my arm started hurting” Asta responds. 

She starts to try to take off her armor but another spasm over takes her arm, causing her to practically fall into Sif’s side. Her friend grabbed her and helped her over to one of the benches, sitting her down as Thor and Loki approached them.

”What is the matter with her, love?” Thor asks his soulmate.

”I’m right here, brother, and it’s nothing” Asta responds, shooting her older brother a quick glare.

”Certainly didn’t look like nothing, Asta” Loki retorts.

”It’s your arm, isn’t that what you just told me?” Sif says, not wanting to deal with a royal sibling argument at the moment. 

“Yes” Asta says with a huff.

The pain was beginning to subside but now Asta had an unexplainable urge to see what had happened to her arm.

”Can you get your armor off on your own or do you need help?” Sif asks.

”I think I can manage it now, thank you” Asta says, smiling at Sif. 

As her two brothers and best friend watch her, Asta painstakingly begins to take off her armor. The plain clothes underneath were practically stained with sweat from training but, at the moment, none of them seemed to pay it any mind. 

As soon as Asta’s right arm was free, Thor took it in his grasp to inspect it. He practically ripped her up from the bench as he did so but Asta didn’t say anything, simply knowing that this is how her overprotective older brother acts. His face falls and lights up within seconds, causing everyone else to be confused. Fandral, Hogan, and Volstagg had started to approach them when Asta began taking her armor off so they were standing a few feet to the side of them when Thor grabbed her arm.

He looked at Asta with a wide grin on his face before grabbing her and giving her a bear hug. Asta reluctantly hugged him back, a confused expression slipping onto her face. 

”So I’m assuming that our beloved princess is okay?” Fandral asks, in a joking way, from the sidelines. 

Thor lets Asta go but is still smiling widely. She frowns and looks at her arm for herself.

”Oh my.....” Asta trailed off. 

There was a name, albeit in terribly sloppy handwriting, now on her wrist when there hadn’t been one there before. 

She has a soulmate. 


	3. canyon moon

**May 3rd, 2012  
Asgard **

A certain stillness had settled over the castle following Loki’s fall. The queen talked less and the king more prone to anger, the remaining prince and princess left to process their grief alone. As much as she would like to admit it, Asta knew that her final living brother was changed by his most recent visit to Midgard. He often spoke to her about a Midgardian woman named Jane Foster into the wee hours of the morning, expressing his worry for her and her friends that remained on Midgard. He was becoming distant from Sif and the Warriors Three, when they used to all be practically inseparable.   
  
They all understand that he and Loki were close and that Thor most likely blames himself for his brothers death. Despite Loki trying to have him killed via the Destroyer that he sent to Midgard. He was hardly his jovial self around the castle, he was usually found by Asta training the hours away with unshed tears in his eyes.   
  
That evening, the royal siblings were taking a stroll in their mother’s garden. Frigga hardly went there anymore, ever since Loki’s fall she was never seen in the garden anymore, and Odin never stepped foot in the place. It was a space in the castle where they could speak freely, not worried about one of the servants overhearing and reporting back to either the king or the queen.

Thor didn’t speak as much anymore, not to Asta or anyone else on Asgard, so more often then not she was leading the conversation. Or basically speaking to herself.

”Mother and Father are hosting some of the nobles for dinner tomorrow” Asta says as they walk.   
  
The king and queen often did this to keep themselves on the good sides of the noble Asgardian families and vice versa. The nobles would complain about anything and everything at these dinner parties, hoping that Odin would do something about it. Usually he didn’t, not typically concerning himself with the trivial aspects of their daily lives. 

“So I’ve heard. Are we required to make an appearance?” Thor asks.

”Mother said that it wasn’t mandatory but that she would like us too” She replies.

”So yes” Thor chuckles.

”Yeah, pretty much” Asta says, smiling at her brother.

They fell into silence after that, no longer feeling the need to fill the air with pointless small talk. The sun was beginning to set and the air was turning cold. The pair of them could hear the remain bustle of the city underneath them, the shops of Asgard closing for the night and the pubs being filled by workers. Sometimes Asta wished that she could live among them and forfeit her title as princess but she knew that that was unrealistic.

“Do you ever wish to be one of them?” Thor asks.

”Yes” Asta responds, knowing exactly who her older brother spoke of. 

They both look down at the city practically below them, faces torn between thoughtfulness and emptiness. 

The sound of rustling armor draws the two out of their collective stupor, drawing their attention to the courtyard a few meters ahead of them. The courtyard is what connected the garden to the rest of the castle, the only way in and out. They both made out a figure rapidly approaching them, both of them tensing in reaction and years of battle training.

Although Frigga did teach Asta some magic when she was a young girl, she seemed to excel on the battlefield similarly to her eldest brother. Odin forced her to train with Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three as soon as she was able to lift a steel sword off of the ground. Despite not having extraordinary abilities like her brothers, Asta was gifted with the ability of flight and it seemed to come in handy during battle.   
  
Both of them still in their armor from a long day of training, they were both protected and armed in case the figure wanted to start any trouble with the two of them. Asta moved her hand to the hilt of the sword strapped to her waist. This sword, specially forged for her when she came of age, never left her side much like Mjölner never left Thor’s side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thor grip Mjölner tighter and slowly start to lift the hammer up. 

When the figure drew closer the two royal siblings recognized him almost immediately. Asta’s hand dropped from the hilt of her sword and Thor returned Mjölner to his side. 

“Prince, Princess, there is news from Midgard” Heimdall says as he approaches them.   
  
“Jane?” Thor asks almost immediately. 

“No, Loki” Heimdall says.

~~~*~~~

”Loki? Loki is dead” Odin says, his voice booming in the otherwise silent throne room. 

After Heimdall told Thor and Asta about their brother being alive, the three of them went to the throne room. Odin and Frigga needed to know that Loki was alive, not just as his parents but as the king and queen. He still had to pay the price for sending the Destroyer down to Midgard.

“I saw him, your majesty, on Midgard” Heimdall says, his tone seemingly more serious then normal.

”We must bring him back here, immediately” Frigga says, speaking up for what seemed to be the first time in ages.

Odin looks scornfully over at his wife before proceeding. 

“Thor, go to Midgard and retrieve your brother” Odin orders.

”Can I go with him, Father?” Asta asks, shocking everyone else around her.

Despite allowing Asta to train and fight alongside Thor and the others, she was rarely allowed to go to separate realms. Odin kept a close watch on his youngest child, seeming as though he would confine her to the castle if Frigga’s input wasn’t involved. 

“Let this be a valuable lesson to you, Asta. Watch over your sister” Odin says and with a wave of hand he dismisses the three of them. 

Not needing anything else to be said to them, Heimdall, Thor, and Asta all leave the throne room. Thor and Asta quietly follow Heimdall, knowing that now they would soon be transported to Midgard. Adrenaline courses through Asta’s veins, she’s never been to Midgard before and was looking forward to it.

If only her visit would be under better circumstances, other then capturing her older brother who was previously believed to be dead. 

“I can send you both to Midgard as close to Loki as I can gauge from the bridge” Heimdall says as they walk. 

“Where on Midgard did you see him?” Thor asks. 

“A country called Germany. It seems that he’s amassed somewhat of a following there” Heimdall responds.

Thor looks over at his younger sister and nudges her arm with his shoulder. Asta gives him a small smile in return. Despite the adrenaline, Asta was beginning to worry. She’s never been to Midgard before, despite being told about it practically her entire life by her brothers and father, and hasn’t traveled via the Bifrost in, most likely, decades. 

“You ready for this?” He asks her quietly.

”As ready as I’ll ever be” She responds.   
  
The three of them walk the empty city streets in silence, the sounds of the pubs and homes around them the only ones. Despite the rainbow bridge being shattered, Heimdall could more accurately send them down to Midgard closer to it and the Bifrost. 

They reach the remains of the bridge in record time, space stretching out in front of them for infinity. Heimdall was looking down to the right of the edge of the bridge, most likely searching Midgard for Loki once more. Without the Bifrost, Heimdall is still able to transport people out of Asgard but at a cost to him. He should be able to transport the two of them down to Midgard and them plus Loki back without too much trouble.

”Ready?” Heimdall asks, not looking away from where he most likely found Loki.

”Yes” Thor and Asta say in unison. 

Hemidall nods and murmurs something under his breath. As soon as he does that, Thor and Asta begin to be lifted by an invisible force. The multi colors of the Bifrost surround the two of them as they are shot off of the bridge, out of Asgard, and through space. Asta’s stomach flips as they move, her limbs feeling rubbery yet strong all at once. She looked over at her brother and he had a wide smile on his face, as if this was his favorite thing in the entire world. 

Seeing him having a genuine smile on his face for this first time ever since they all thought that Loki died killed any inhibitions that Asta might have had. She was doing this for her brothers, the two most important people in her life, so she could deal some temporary discomfort in order to do so. 


	4. cherry

**May 3rd, 2012**

**Midgard**

As soon as Asta and Thor arrived on the planet, they were traveling again. According to Heimdall, Loki was being transported in a flight device created by the Midgardians so their job was now to find that and capture Loki. The pair of them flew side by side, Mjölner propelling Thor along as Asta’s natural born ability of flight was proving to be quite useful. 

As a way to show Loki that they, or at least that he was on his way, Thor produced some thunder and lightning using Mjölner. Asta rolled her eyes at her brothers antics but understood why he was doing it, Loki needed to know that they were hot on his trail and that they know that he’s alive.

They soon spotted the aircraft and Thor moved in the air faster then Asta had ever seen him. He was in and out of there with Loki within a matter of seconds, barely giving her time to react. The heavy rain was making it difficult to see and Asta’s hair was plastered all over her face, leaving little visibility. She soon caught up with him, seeing that he was bringing Loki to a cliff a little awhile away. 

She could see them talking as she approached but couldn’t hear anything over the rain and due to the distance between them. She touched down a few feet behind Thor, gaining the attention of her two older brothers.

”Ah, Asta, Odin finally let you leave the castle?” Loki sneers. 

A hideous sneer overtook his face, immediately letting Asta know that something was _off_ with him. He knew that she hates how Odin practically confines her to just the castle but the old Loki never would have said something like that to her. They were the closest of friends as children and throughout their life, possibly closer then Loki and Thor.

”You made us believe that you were dead, how could you do that to your family?” Asta asks, tears building up in her eyes.   
  
Before anyone could say anything, a blur of red and gold zooms past and brings Thor with it. With wide eyes, both Loki and Asta watched the red and gold flash whisk their brother away from them. Asta was about to leap into the sky to follow them but Loki grabs her wrist, preventing her from leaving. 

“Don’t. Your brother will be just fine” Loki says.

”He’s your brother too, Loki” Asta says, yanking her arm out of his grasp. 

“No, he isn’t. You and I both know my real parentage” Loki says, turning away from her.   
  
He walks a few feet away from her, looking out at the expansive forest around them. 

“So all the years we spent together just mean nothing?” Asta cries.   
  
A bolt of lightening in the distance draws Asta’s attention momentarily. It seems as though Thor is fighting with whatever that red and gold blur was.   
  
“They were based on lies, Asta” He responds.

The wind howls around them, pelting the rain more ferociously then before. She suppresses the urge to shiver, her whole body covered in goosebumps. 

“You’re still my brother, Loki, and nothing in the nine realms is going to change that” Asta says firmly.

Loki doesn’t respond to this, he just keeps looking out in the distance. They can hear and see trees falling as a result of Thor’s current duel with the red and gold blur. The aircraft that they took Loki out of was drawing closer, closer to where the fight was taking place.   
  
“Did you not care about how your death would impact us? Thor hasn’t been the same and I.....” Asta trailed off.

”You what? Can’t bear being overshadowed by him, the full weight of it?” He responds.

”No. I can’t cope without my closest friend” Asta says, looking Loki dead in the eye as she did.

He frowns and looks away. A flash of light erupted from where the fight was taking place and the ground shook. A gong-like sound erupted into the air for a moment before everything went silent. Asta looked at Loki for a moment before leaping into the sky, quickly flying down to the fight area.   
  
As she rapidly approached, she could see three male figures standing close together in somewhat of a circle. One of them was Thor, another one was in a red and gold metal suit, and another one was in the tackiest outfit that Asta thinks she’s ever seen. Thor looks up at her as she approaches, drawing the attention of the two other men. She drops down directly next to Thor, feeling the weight of all of their gazes on her. 

“Where’s Loki?” Thor asked.   
  
“Where you left him. He isn’t going anywhere” Asta responds. 

“Um, can we have a pause on the field real quick? Who are you?” The man in the red and gold suit asks, looking at the other Midgardian man before looking over at Asta. 

“She’s my sister” Thor says.

”Meaning she’s Loki’s sister. How do we know that you’re both not here to help him?” The man in the tacky outfit asks.

”Was there anything in the file about a sister?” The red and gold man asked the other one.

The other Midgardian man gave him a ‘please be quiet look’ instead of saying anything to him. Asta looks over at the man in the metal suit and almost immediately a hollow feelings forms in her stomach. Almost as if she hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink in hours after training with Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three. She frowns to herself, trying to ignore the unpleasant feeling all together. 

“If we were here to help him wouldn’t we have left already?” Asta asks with an arched brow. 

“Good point. Tony, we need to get Loki to the Helicarrier” The man in the tacky outfit says to the other man. 

“On it” The man, Tony, says.   
  
Flames shoot out of the bottom of the suits feet and he’s thrust into the air, flying back to the cliff where they left Loki. 

“I’m sure that we can explain everything back on the Helicarrier. My name is Steve Rogers, nice to meet you” The man says.

”Asta Odindottir, pleasure” Asta says with a forced smile.

”Thor Odinson” Thor says. 

The roar of the engine of the aircraft immediately killed their conversation. It roughly parked a few yards away from Thor, Asta, and Steve and opened its hatch. Tony was standing at the top with a shit eating grin on his face. Asta and Thor could see Loki sitting, albeit strapped in and totally confined, in the middle of the aircraft from where they were standing and he adamantly refused to look at them. 

“You two riding with us or following?” Tony asks from the top. 

Steve walked past the siblings and onto the aircraft, silently walking past Tony.   
  
“Following” Thor responds for the both of them. 

He nods and walks back into the plane, almost immediately after the hatch slowly closes. Asta and Thor watch as the aircraft lifts from the ground and flies away, the two of them just standing there in silence.   
  
“I don’t think that this was what you bargained for, was it?” Thor asks, swinging Mjölner in preparation for flight. 

“Not exactly” Asta says as she lifts herself off of the ground. 

~~~*~~~

They arrived on the Helicarrier shortly after the aircraft did, the people aboard wasting no time in bringing Loki below deck. Steve, Tony, and the woman piloting the plane waited for them to arrive before they started heading into the ship. The pit in Asta’s stomach hadn’t gone away, and if anything it was getting worse every minute, and waiting outside in the rain didn’t help. 

As soon as Thor and Asta touched down, Tony and Steve began to head inside. The woman, a redhead wearing a black pantsuit waited for them. She introduced herself as Agent Romanoff and lead them down below, following Steve and Tony. Steve went to the conference table area with them while Tony departed, most likely going to take the red and gold suit off somewhere. 

Two other men and a woman were waiting at the conference table for them. They all seem slightly shocked to see both Thor and Asta but otherwise didn’t say anything about them being there. 

From where Steve is sitting at the table, a projection of Loki in his makeshift cell is being played as Steve and one of the other men watch. 

“He really grows on you, doesn’t he?” The other man jokes when the feed goes away. 

“Loki’s going to drag this out. So....Thor what’s his play?” Steve asks, still in his ridiculous suit. 

“He has an army, called the Chitauri. They’re not of Asgard nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people they will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract” Thor explains.   
  
“An army, from outer space” Steve says, looking at his fellow Midgardians with a dumbfounded look on his face. 

“So he’s building another portal? That’s what he needs Erik Selvig for” The other man says, waving around a pair of glasses as he does.

”Selvig?” Thor asks, concern overtaking his face.

After returning from Midgard, Thor mentioned Erik Selvig to Asta a couple of times. He was one of the people who found in him in the desert with Jane Foster. 

“He’s an astrophysicist” The man tries to explain.

”He’s a friend” Thor replies. 

“Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours” Agent Romanoff says, seemingly making herself uncomfortable simply by mentioning it. 

“I want to know why Loki let us take him. He’s not leading an army from here” Steve buts in.

Asta practically zones out after that, only wanting to take Loki back to Asgard so she can be done here. Sometime during the conversation, Tony enters the room and Asta sees him tap Thor on the arm. The pit in her stomach wasn’t leaving, making it easier to focus on that and not the things going on around her.

Soon enough, the group has dispersed and she and Thor were the only ones remaining in the area. He looked at her with a concerned look on his face.

”Asta, are you okay?” He asks, reaching out and grabbing her shoulder.

”Just a stomachache is all” Asta responds, faking a smile.

Thor looked down at her with a unpleased look on his face. 

“You know that you don’t have to lie to me” He responds.

”I’m not lying, brother, it’s simply a stomachache” Asta replies with a frown. 

“Fine, lets take a walk” Thor says, dropping his hand from Asta’s shoulder. 

Asta nods and they both leave the conference table, walking down the hallway that Tony and Dr. Banner, during the conversation that she was halfway zoned out of she picked up his name, went down minutes prior. There were a few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents milling about in the corridor ahead of them but they didn’t pay Thor and Asta any mind. As they walk down the hall, they can look into the laboratory that Tony and Dr. Banner are currently setting up in. For some reason, Thor turned and entered the laboratory. After a small moment, Asta followed. 

The two scientists look at them with slightly confused looks on their faces as they enter. 

“I’m afraid that I didn’t allow my sister to properly introduce herself to everyone earlier so, sister, if you’re willing to do that now” Thor says, a certain twinkling in his eyes.

She frowns at him slightly before turning her attention to Tony and Dr. Banner.   
  
“I’m Asta Odindottir, pleasure to meet the two of you” Asta says politely, giving the two of them a small smile. 

“Bruce Banner” Dr. Banner says, sticking out his hand for a hand shake.   
  
Asta quickly shakes his hand before looking over at Tony who seemed unnaturally quiet. He seemed to be two shades paler then he was previously and was looking at Asta with an unreadable expression on his face. He steps away from her and turns his attention to some of the equipment.

”Tony Stark” 


	5. sunflower vol. 6

**May 4th, 2012**

**S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Midgard**

The halls of the helicarrier were teeming with agents walking to and fro, reminding Asta of the castle on Asgard. She had split off from Thor earlier that morning, wanting to explore the airship on her own with just her thoughts. He forbade her from going to speak with Loki the moment she mentioned being on her own, despite none of the agents expressly saying something like that to either of them. Asta believed that Thor thought that Loki would try to manipulate her into somehow releasing him from the cage.   
  
Asta was walking an otherwise empty hall when she heard the opening of a door. She followed the sound, her hand on the hilt of her sword. This part of the helicarrier was otherwise deserted so who knows who could be around her? She was nearing a turn in the hall so she pressed her body against the wall, slowly peeking her head out. Her heart was pounding in her chest with the now accepted stomachache somewhat gone. 

“Steve?” Asta calls out in confusion.

The man in question was pressed against one of the storage doors, trying to pry it open. His head snapped to look in her direction as she approached him. As she walked closer to him, the door finally budged and he slowly slid it open.

”What are you doing?” She asks, looking at him with a perplexed look on her face.

Clearly he’s doing something that he wouldn’t want anyone to find out about since he didn’t ask anyone for their keycard. He sighs before looking at her.

”Stark and Dr. Banner think that something fishy is going on and I’m....conducting an investigation” He tries to explain.

”By breaking into one of the storage rooms?” She asks. 

He nods his head before silently entering the room. Asta follows him with trepidation; how would Director Fury react if he found them in there? Would he throw Asta in the cage with her brother? 

“What are we looking for?” Asta asks.

”I’m not sure yet” Steve responds.   
  
The room is filled with large metal storage containers, labeled in a way that looks incoherent to Asta. Steve leaps up onto the higher level of the storage area, looking around with cautious eyes. The lighting in the room was abysmal at best so Asta was practically squinting at the storage crates around her. 

”Last night, what did Tony mean by ‘in the file’?” Asta asks.

”S.H.I.E.L.D. sent Stark, Banner, and I debriefing packets about each other, Thor, and Loki prior to us all meeting here. In both Thor and Loki’s file there was no mention of you in it” Steve explains.

Asta nods her head in acknowledgment. When Loki, Thor, and Odin first traveled to Midgard seemingly a millennial ago they did not tell the Midgardians about baby Asta. Odin never explained why but maybe there was a good reason behind it but that’s possibly why there was no mention of her in the S.H.I.E.L.D. files.

Steve begins to open the storage crates on the level above and Asta begins to do so on the bottom level. There are mostly just papers dated back years in the crates that Asta checked, some of the papers even yellowed with age. She continues looking but seems to find nothing even after what felt like twenty or so minutes but in reality was only five or ten.

“Find anything?” She calls up to Steve.

He’s quiet for a moment before he responds to her question. 

“Yeah, come up here would you?” Steve calls from above her.   
  
Asta sighs and closes the lid on the crate she was just looking through. After that is done, she floats up to the second level in the room and touches down a few feet away from Steve. He was looking at her in amazement for a few seconds before turning back to the open crate in front of him. Inside were a couple of weapons unlike anything Asta had ever seen before. “Phase 2” was written hastily on the top interior of the crate.   
  
“What is that?” She asks, slowly walking closer to the crate. 

“All the evidence we need” Steve says, picking up the gun. 

He turns quickly on his heels and starts walking fast towards the stairs that lead to the bottom level of the storage area. Asta hastily followed after him, not exactly knowing where he was leading the two of them. He lead them out of the storage room and down the halls of the helicarrier, ignoring the concerned stares of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that they passed. 

Asta soon realizes that Steve is leading them directly back to the temporary laboratory of Bruce and Tony. It makes sense, she guesses, as they are the ones that brought up the possibility of things not being exactly as they seem to Steve in the first place. As they near it, through the windows they both see that Director Fury is in there along with Tony and Banner.

”What is “Phase 2”?” Tony asks as Steve and Asta walk into the room. 

Steve drops the weapon on the table closest to the doorway in which the two of them entered, easily grabbing the attention of the three other men. 

“Phase 2 is S.H.I.E.L.D. uses the Cube to make weapons. Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me” Steve says to Tony and Bruce. 

“Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we’re making....” Director Fury starts before he’s promptly cut off. 

Before he begins to speak, Tony swivels one of the screens to face Asta, Steve, and Director Fury.   
  
“I’m sorry, Nick. What were you lying?” He asks.

The screen showed the blueprints for a missle-like weapon as Tony showed it.

”I was wrong, Director. The world hasn’t changed a bit” Steve says.

Thor and Agent Romanoff enter the laboratory, Thor giving Asta a small smile as he enters. 

“Did you know about this?” Bruce asks Agent Romanoff after she enters the room.

”You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?” Agent Romanoff asks, completely ignoring Bruce’s prior question. 

Asta looked around the room and she could feel the tension slowly become palpable in the air. There was no way that any of them were getting out of this unscathed, either through a physical or verbal altercation. 

“I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed” Bruce says, a somewhat forced chuckle escaping his lips. 

“Loki’s manipulating you” Agent Romanoff says, walking closer to the doctor. 

“And you’ve been doing what, exactly?” Bruce retorts, backing away from her and the rest of the people in the room. 

“You didn’t come here because I bat my eyelashes at you” Agent Romanoff responds, still walking closer to him.

”Yes, and I’m not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I’d like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction” Bruce says, grabbing the screen Tony used earlier and pointing to the blueprints on it. 

“Because of them” Director Fury says, pointing at both Thor and Asta. 

“Us?” They ask in almost perfect unison.   
  
“Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned” Director Fury explains, making a point to look at each and every one of them in the eye for at least a second as he spoke. 

“Our people want nothing but peace with your planet” Thor speaks for both himself and his sister. 

“But you’re not the only people out there, are you? And you’re not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can’t be matched, that can’t be controlled” Director Fury continues to explain, slightly pacing around the room as he does so. 

“Like you controlled the Cube?” Steve chimes in. 

“Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war” Thor explains, looking over at his sister repeatedly as he does so. 

“A higher form?” Steve asks.

”You forced our hand. We had to come up with something” Director Fury says.   
  
“A nuclear deterrent. Because that always calms everything right down” Tony says sarcastically. 

“Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark” Director Fury says, turning to look at the other man with a somewhat spiteful expression on his face. 

“I’m sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck-deep....” Steve starts

”Hold on. How is this how about me?” Tony asks, approaching both Steve and Director Fury. 

“I’m sorry, isn’t everything?” Steve retorts. 

“I thought humans were more evolved than this” Thor says disappointedly.

”Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?” Director Fury asks, turning around to face Thor. 

As the argument continues, everyone starts to speak over each other to the point where Asta simply stops paying attention. She’s practically standing in the doorway at that point, avoiding making eye contact with anyone as she doesn’t want one of them to pick an argument with her. She could feel that something was wrong, not just everyone arguing but something else entirely. 

“You speak of control, yet you court chaos” Thor says, snapping Asta out of her head.

”That’s his M.O., isn’t it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, we’re a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We’re a time bomb” Bruce says, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

”You need to step away” Director Fury says seriously, slowly approaching Bruce. 

“Why shouldn’t the guy let off a little steam?” Tony asks as he puts his hand on Steve’s shoulder.   
  
“You know damn well why. Back off!” Steve snaps back at Tony, slapping his arm off of him. 

“I’m starting to want you to make me” Tony replies.

”Yeah. Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?” Steve asks slightly maliciously.

”Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” Tony says, turning his head to look at Steve as he does so.   
  
Looking away from the two men, Asta looks around the room and makes eye contact with her brother. He subtly motions for her to come over to him with his hand, and while everyone is distracted by Steve and Tony she does exactly that. She stands a few inches to the right of her brother, looking at the Midgardians around them with a frown on her face. She thought that they were all better then this, better then engaging in quarrels better left for children. 

“If this turns ugly, even between the two of them, I want you to stand behind me” Thor whispers to her.

She looks up at her brother, frowning as she does so. Despite all the rest of her family members sharing a similar stature, Asta was the one to be left out and is considerably shorter then them. Considered short for most Asgardian women, actually, but she never let that get to her too much. Let people underestimate her, it makes fighting a hell of a lot easier when someone underestimates you.

”I can protect myself just fine, brother” She responds in a whisper.

He simply nods in response, turning his attention back to everyone around them. Asta, unfortunately, does the same. 

“Put on the suit. Let’s go a few rounds” Steve says to Tony.

”You people are so petty, and tiny” Thor laughs.  
  
Asta glares at him, comments like that most definitely wouldn’t make the situation any better for any of them.

”Comments like that aren’t helping anything, brother” Asta says, although she gets thoroughly ignored by everyone else in the room. 

“Yeah, this is a team” Bruce says sarcastically.

”Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his....” Director Fury starts before he’s cut off.

”Where? You rented my room” Bruce says, motioning with his hands in the general direction of the cage.

”The cell was just in case...”

”In case you needed to kill me. But you can’t. I know, I tried,” Bruce says, “I got low. I didn’t see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on. I focused on helping other people, I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?”

As soon as Bruce’s hand touches the spear, Asta’s hand flies to the hilt of her sword. She knows that she’s no match for the Hulk but she could at least try to prevent Bruce from doing something that he would regret. She doesn’t have to look around to see that everyone else was reaching for their individual weapons. 

“Dr. Banner, put down the scepter” Steve says apprehensively. 

Bruce slowly looks down at the scepter in his hands with a confused facial expression. Maybe Loki really was manipulating him and Bruce had no idea what he was doing when he grabbed it? 

A beeping sound emits from one of the computers immediately after, prompting Bruce to return the scepter to the table that it originally was on. 

“Sorry, kids, you don’t get to see my party trick after all” Bruce says as he walks over to the beeping computer. 

“Did you find the Tesseract?” Asta asks the doctor.   
  
She ignores the conversation now happening around her, solely focusing on Bruce and the computer screen in front of him. 

“Oh my god” He says breathlessly.   
  
Almost immediately after fire momentarily fills the room, destroying the glass windows and nearly everything in sight. People were thrown every which way and Asta was flung down to the ground, slamming her head against one of the tables as she fell. She heard Thor fall to the ground a few feet away from her but didn’t know about where everyone else was thrown to. 

She could feel blood slowly trickle down the side of her face as she unsteadily tried to rise to her feet. Thor was at her side in an instant, trying to pick her up until she pushed him off of her. 

“Are you hurt?” He asks, concern seeping into his voice. 

“I’ll be fine, I’ve suffered worse” Asta responds as she finally stands.   
  
Her head was pounding and that notorious stomachache was back in droves this time, nearly sending her to the ground for the second time.

”Hill!” Director Fury says over his ear piece.

Asta and Thor were given ear pieces soon after they arrived on the vessel, the agent who gave them out said that they were an essential part of being there so they accepted them without much question. 

“External detonation” Hill quickly responds to him. 

“Somebody’s got to get outside and repair that engine” Hill says after a few moments.

”Stark, Asta, you copy on that?” Director Fury says.

”I’m on it” Stark says.

”Copy” Asta forces herself to say after a moment. 

Thor looks at her with a protective look on his face, almost as if he was pondering not letting her go and complete the assignment that the director just gave her. 

“Be safe, please” He says finally.

”Always, brother, always” 


	6. treat people with kindness

**May 4th, 2012**

**S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Midgard**

Engine three of the helicarrier was still in flames when Tony, Steve, and Asta all arrived within seconds of each other. S.H.I.E.L.D. technicians were fleeing as they all arrived, escaping the flames and harsh winds. Asta’s head was still pounding and she could feel the blood sticking to her face, getting tangled in her hair. 

”Stark, Asta, I’m here!” Steve called into the wind as he arrived. 

“Good” Tony responds.

Asta and Tony, in the Iron Man armor, both fly over to where Steve is. Tony flies over to the damage and starts assessing it, speaking to himself, as both Steve and Asta wait patiently.

”I need you to get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in overload position” Tony says, pointing at Steve as he spoke. 

Tony flies off further into the damaged engine while Steve jumped to the engine control panel that the other man spoke of. Asta flew over to Steve, landing a few inches away from him. He pulls out the control panel and it’s filled with wiring and buttons that look completely foreign to Asta.

”What does it look like in there?” Tony asks over the earpiece. 

“It seems to run on some sort of electricity” Steve says sarcastically, a confused expression on his face. 

“Well, you’re not wrong” The other man replied. 

After that, for a few moments anyway, Tony becomes silent over the earpiece. Steve and Asta both share a look before they turn back to the engine control panel.

”You should probably go help him, Asta” Steve says after a moment. 

“Will you be okay here?” She asks.

”Of course, don’t worry about me” He says with a cheeky smile.

Asta rolls her eyes at him before flying in the direction of where she last saw Tony. She could hear his suit shooting some things away as she approached him and the interior portion of the engine. She sees him at the makeshift entrance into the of the engine. He’s facing away from her, looking at the damage caused by the explosion. 

“Tony?” Asta calls out.   
  
He turns around and she, obviously, can’t make out his facial expression underneath his Iron Man armor. He silently motions her forward with his hand. 

“Okay, the relays are intact. What’s our next move?” Steve asks from over the ear piece. 

“Even if Asta and I clear the rotors, this thing won’t re-engage without a jump. I’m going to have to get in there and push” Tony explains. 

“If that thing gets up to speed, you’ll get shredded” Steve says, voicing both his and Asta’s obvious concerns. 

“That stator control unit can reverse the polarity long enough to disengage maglev and that could....” Tony starts 

“Speak English!”   
  
“You see that red lever? It will slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out. Stand by it, wait for my word” 

Tony immediately gets to work, engaging a laser out of his armor to cut through the pieces of debris stuck in the engine.

”Let me help you” Asta says, almost pleading at this point.

Director Fury believed that she would be enough help to send her out with both him and Steve so she should at least be doing the bare minimum of helping them out. 

“Fine, we need to start pushing” Tony says, flying over to one the pieces of the engine. 

Asta follows suit, lining up next to Tony as he starts pushing. As they begin to do so, they both feel the helicarrier quickly starting to lose altitude. Did another engine collapse?   
  
“Stark, Asta, we’re losing altitude” Fury says over the earpiece. 

“Yeah, I noticed” Tony responds. 

Asta grits her teeth as they continue to push; being an Asgardian came with all of the physical advantages but she still wasn’t considered overly strong by their standards. The engine was beginning to pick up speed but nowhere near where they needed it to be, not as of that moment anyways. Despite not being able to see his eyes, Asta could feel Tony looking at her through his armor.

After a few more moments of pushing the engine cycle around, Asta could feel her hands beginning to slip on the metal in front of her. She dared not to move her hands lest she lose her grip entirely but if she weren’t to move them then that would most likely happen soon. Pure adrenaline was pumping through her veins and was the only thing still keeping her going. 

“Cap, hit the lever” Tony says over the earpiece.

”I need a minute here!” Steve replies shortly after. 

“Lever, now!” 

Radio silence.   
  
From the corner of her eye, Asta sees Tony accidentally let go of the metal in front of them and slide backwards. Without thinking, Asta does the same and she grabs him by the hand and throws him upwards and out of the engine. She flies up after him, seeming that the engine slightly slows down when she does meaning that Steve finally pulled the lever. They stay in the air in silence for a moment, collectively catching their breath.

”Thanks” Tony says.

”Of course” Asta replies. 

Without another word, the two of them fly quickly back to where they left Steve. They could hear a gun going off as they rapidly approached, stopping only when they got in sight. A man dressed in S.H.I.E.L.D. attire was standing in the doorway and Steve was leaning against the engine control panel. Seemingly without thinking, Tony zoomed forward at the imposter. The imposter lifted his gun and shot off a few rounds before Tony collided with him, effectively taking him down.

As the adrenaline was quickly leaving her body, Asta landed practically right next to Steve in front of the closed engine control panel. He looked over at her with worry in his eyes. 

That’s when she felt the pain. A hot, searing pain in her arm that quickly overtook her body as the remaining adrenaline was gone. Asta looked down to see a bullet-shaped wound in her forearm, dripping blood down to the ground below. Being well versed in all sorts of injuries, whether she was the one who sustained them or if she had helped either one of her brothers bandage themselves up, she quickly wrapped her other hand around the wound and began applying pressure.

When the imposter shot his gun at Tony one of the bullets must have missed and went straight into Asta’s arm. 

”We need to get you to a doctor” Steve says, lightly putting a hand on her shoulder and guiding her to the entryway of the engine area.   
  
Tony, now standing post falling to the ground after tackling the imposter, had taken off the helmet of his armor and was looking at the two with a perplexed look on his face. His eyes trailed down to Asta’s bloody arm and his facial expression changed to something unreadable. 

Asta allowed herself to be guided by Steve past Tony, who watched them walk away and began to follow them. 

“Did you get shot?” He asks from behind them. 

“It certainly looks like it” Asta replies. 

“Cap, lead her to the medbay. I’ll meet you two down there” Tony says.

~~~*~~~

Steve followed through with Tony’s apparent order and brought Asta down to the medbay. There were many other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents seeking medical attention so Asta was more then glad to wait her turn. Steve had left a few minutes after bringing her there, Director Fury had wanted to speak to him and Tony. One of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s top agents, Agent Phil Coulson, had been killed by Loki during the attack so the mood in the helicarrier was somber. Although she didn’t personally know the man, she did know that Thor held him in high regard as he often spoke about him when they were back on Asgard.   
  
When it was her turn to get treated, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent patching her up didn’t speak to her unless it was absolutely necessary. And she most definitely didn’t mention the name on her arm, the name that Asta hadn’t paid attention to in years. She had given up finding her soulmate centuries ago, but that was before a certain little name appearing on her arm decades before she came to Midgard. 

The name that was now covered up in bandages after the bullet had been removed from her arm. Asta had told the agent numerous times that the humongous bandage wasn’t necessary, as Asgardians healed ten times faster then the average Midgardian, but she didn’t listen and put it on her anyways. She was quickly released after the bandage was put on her arm and she began to look for either Steve or Tony.   
  
Her search lead her to the room where they once stored the cage that they built for Dr. Banner, well technically the Hulk. They were already in the middle of having a conversation but they both looked over at Asta as she arrived, acknowledging her presence.

”Is this the first time you lost a soldier?” Steve asks, sounding detached from everything.

”We are not soldiers. I’m not marching to Fury’s fife” Tony says, emotion coursing through his voice.

”Neither am I. He’s got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now, we got to put that behind us and get this done. Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list....”

”He made it personal” 

“That’s not the point”

”That is the point. That’s Loki’s point. He hit us all where we live, why?”

”To tear us apart”

”Yeah, divide and conquer is great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That’s what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience”

”Right, I caught his act in Stuttgart” 

“Yeah, that’s just the previews. This is opening night. And Loki, he’s a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades. He wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered.....Son of a bitch” Tony comes to a conclusion. 

Both Steve and Tony turn to Asta in that moment. 

“Where is he going?” She asks them.

”Stark Tower, in New York” Tony replies.

”Are you up for it?” Steve asks, looking down at the bandage on her arm.

“Of course” Asta says with a nod of her head. 

The two men share a look before they both nod back and they all leave the room. Asta still had reservations about fighting Loki, at the end of the day he’s still her brother whether they both liked it or not, but she couldn’t allow him to continue his tirade on Midgard. 


	7. watermelon sugar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> slight mentions of blood/gore

**May 4th, 2012**

**Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America, Midgard**

Flames and rubble filled the streets as the Chitauri poured from the portal in the sky. The distant screams of civilians could be heard from anywhere in the city as the battle begun. After their jet crashed, Asta, Agent Romanoff, Agent Barton, and Steve all leapt into the fray.

Her arm sung in pain as she swung her sword at the nearest Chitauri soldier. They weren’t the toughest foes that she’s encountered but still they had large enough numbers where they could be too much for them after awhile. The Chitauri screamed in pain as Asta’s sword slit their throat, effectively making them drop to the ground. She could see Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton fighting in close proximity to her but her attention was grabbed by the Chitauri quickly approaching her. It shot at her a few times, she evades the shots easily enough and threw her sword at it. It lodged deep in the Chitauri’s skull, it’s blood splurging as it falls. 

As she rushes over to grab her sword, Steve returns to the general area in which the three of them were fighting. He quickly dispatched a few more of the Chitauri that we’re gaining on both Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton. Electricity soon crackled in the air, lighting bolts taking out the remaining Chitauri in that small area. Thor flew down from the sky, almost immediately beelining over to Asta when he saw her. 

“You okay?” He asks, looking warily down at the now bloody bandage on her arm. 

“Never been better, you?” She replies with a smile.

”Great” Thor responds.

She could tell that he was lying simply in the way in which he spoke. Fighting Loki was taking its toll on him, just as it was taking a toll on Asta. The three of them were as thick as thieves growing up so to see that Loki was lead to astray was painful for both of them. 

”What’s the story upstairs?” Steve asks, approaching the siblings.

”The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable” Thor explains.   
  
“Thor’s right. We’ve got to deal with these guys” Tony says over the earpiece.

”How do we do this?” Agent Romanoff asks, looking to Steve for guidance.

”As a team” He replies.

”I have unfinished business with Loki” Thor says.

”Don’t we all” Asta replies sarcastically.

“Yeah? Well, get in line” Agent Barton says, an unimpressed expression on his face.

”Save it,” Steve chimes in, “Loki’s going to keep this fight focused on us, and that’s what we need. Without him, these things could run wild. We got Stark up top. He’s going to need us to....”

Steve trails off at the sound of a terrible quality motorbike approach them. He turns around and sees that Bruce, wearing different clothes from the last time they all saw him in, is driving it towards the group of them.   
  
“So, this all seems horrible” Bruce says as he gets off of the bike. 

They all approach him as he speaks, standing in somewhat of a line behind Steve. 

“I’ve seen worse” Agent Romanoff says. 

“Sorry” Bruce apologizes, his facial expression giving away that he genuinely meant his apology. 

“No, we could all use a little worse” Agent Romanoff says with a tilt of her head.   
  
“Stark, we got him” Steve says over the earpiece. 

“Banner?” Tony asks.

”Just like you said” Steve replies.

”Then tell him to suit up. I’m bringing the party to you” 

After he says that, Tony flies around from the corner of one of the skyscrapers with a giant mechanized beast flying behind him. In all of Asta’s years fighting foreign forces, she’s never seen anything like that. She tightens her grip on her sword as Thor twirls Mjölner in his hand, preparing for a fight.

”I-I don’t see how that’s a party” Agent Romanoff says in disbelief. 

The beast destroys cars in its path as it draws closer to the group, Tony seeming to be only a few feet in front of it at all times. Bruce turns as it nears and begins to approach it.

”Dr. Banner, now might be a really good time for you to get angry” Steve says, stepping forward as he speaks.

”That’s my secret, Captain, I’m always angry” Bruce says, turning back to face Steve and the others as he speaks.

Right after he’s done speaking, Bruce turns around and shifts into the Hulk as he does so. His enlarged fist slams directly into the metal face of the beast, debris shooting up from the ground beneath it. The Hulk bowls as the body of the beast lurches up into the air, seeming to break apart as it does so. Tony launches a miniature missile into what appears to be a fleshy part of the beast as it hangs in the air. They all duck as the missile goes off inside of the beast, flinging debris and the remainder of its body in all directions.   
  
The sounds of the Chitauri screeching files the air as they all form a circle, preparing their weapons for battle. They all look into the air as what may be the remainder of the Chitauri army pour out of the portal in the sky. 

“Guys” Agent Romanoff says, clutching her gun tightly.

”Call it, Captain” Tony says.

”All right, listen up. Until we can close that portal, our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof. Eyes on everything, call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash.” Steve begins.

”Can you give me a lift?” Agent Barton asks Tony.

”Right. Better clench up, Legolas” He replies.   
  
Thor and Asta share a look at the name but they both chalk it up to a reference to Midgardian culture of some sort. Tony walks over to Agent Barton before grabbing the collar of his shirt and shooting off into the sky.

“Thor, you got to try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You got the lightening, light the bastards up” Steve says.

Thor swings Mjölner before launches up into the sky, heading towards Stark Tower and the portal. That left Agent Romanoff, Asta, and Steve as their team members on the ground.

”You and I, we stay here on the ground. We keep the fighting here. Asta, use your abilities to help Stark out in the sky. And Hulk.....smash” Steve says.

At that, Hulk leaps up into the sky and begins to bounce from building to building where he could find any Chitauri. More of them were flowing out of the portal every second that they were waiting around so Asta jumped into action. She clenched her sword and leapt into the sky. She flew up, past Barton’s designated building, and towards a group of Chitauri that were riding a little bit behind Tony. She quickly reached them and plunged her sword into the back of one of the Chitauri soldiers, yanking her sword out of it and throwing it off of its vessel. The one steering it had turned around and was pulling out it’s weapon. She lurched forward and jabbed it in the heart. It lost control of the vessel and it soon plummeted back to the ground. 

She could hear them talking over the earpiece but she was no longer paying attention, her mind was solely focused on the battle at hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thor shoot lighting into the portal but she quickly turned away to pay attention to what was in front of her. More Chirauri on their vessels were ahead of her and she needed to do what was required of her.   
  
Asta repeated what she did with the first vessel until her hand could barely form a proper grip on her sword. She grit her teeth and flew to the next vessel. This time it seemed as though they were waiting for her, the Chitauri in the soldier aiming its gun straight at her chest. It fired twice in rapid succession and she was thrown backwards in the air, pain rapidly blossoming in her abdomen. All of the wind was knocked out of her and she was surprised that she hadn’t begun to plummet to the ground. Her armor absorbed most of the shots, thankfully, but she was hit square in the chest, an injury that wasn’t something most people could get back up from.

She had started to fly forward, ready to block or evade the next shot but they never came. The Chitauri was hit exactly where it shot Asta by a repulser beam, an identical one soon landing on the Chitauri directing the vessel. Asta swiveled her head to see Tony flying over to her.

”You okay, She-Ra, that looked like it hurt?” Tony asks, apparent concern lacing his tone. 

She-Ra? Asta squinted at the name, another one of Tony’s weird nicknames she guessed. 

“I’m sturdier then I look, thank you” Asta says.

Tony simply nods his head inside of the Iron Man armor before he flies off in chase of some other Chitauri. She flew off in the opposite direction, Chitauri there too. Asta looks up at the portal and sighs, how many more of them could possibly come out of that? 

She continued her attack on the Chitauri in the sky, taking down the vessels one by one. After taking out a few more of the vessels, she could see Thor and Steve on the ground below, attacking a mass of Chitauri down there. She flew down to them and plunged her sword into the nearest Chitauri that she could see. The three of them quickly took down the remaining soldiers in their immediate area.

”Asta, how are the skies looking?” Steve asks.

”We need a miracle, Steve, there are so many of them” She replies honestly.

They all stand in silence of a moment, trying to plan out their next attack.

”I can close it. Does anybody copy? I can shut the portal down” Agent Romanoff says over the earpiece.

”Do it!” Steve says almost immediately.

”No, wait” Tony replies.

”Stark, these things are still coming” Steve says, clearly exasperated. 

“I got a nuke coming in. It’s gonna blow in less then a minute. And I know just where to put it” Tony says.   
  
Steve, Asta, and Thor all look at each other in awe for a moment. That’s a suicide mission, he won’t make it back from the other side either unscathed or alive. 

“Stark, you know that’s a one-way trip” Steve says, voicing all their concern.

They all look up to see him pass, guiding the nuke straight to the portal. The world becomes still in that moment, none of them are sure as to what they should be doing or not doing. Quickly the Chitauri around them seemingly power down, collapsing to the ground in a synchronized motion. Asta guesses it’s because the nuke landed on whatever or wherever the Chitauri were being controlled from or something like that. 

“Close it” Steve tells Agent Romanoff over the earpiece, sounding defeated. 

They could see the blue column of light disconnecting from the top of Stark Tower and returning to the portal, effectively closing it for good. After the portal was closed, they could all see that Tony was rapidly plummeting back down to the ground. 

“Son of a gun” Steve says with a half smile on his face. 

“He’s not slowing down” Thor says, looking up at Tony’s lifeless form with concern.   
  
Thor had begun to spin Mjölner and Asta was already an inch off of the ground when Hulk roared and grabbed Tony out of the sky, crashing into a nearby building. He soon fell down to the ground, depositing Tony next to him afterwards. Steve, Thor, and Asta ran over to two of their teammates as soon as Hulk touched the ground.

”Is he breathing?” Steve and Asta ask in unison.

They all crouch down to be closer to him as Thor rips off the front part of the Iron Man helmet. Steve checked to see if he was breathing but soon straightened back up, a mournful look on his face. There was no way that he was dead, right? Hulk roars and Tony gasps awake, looking at the four others with confusion on his face. His gaze lingers on Asta longer then the others before he looks up into the sky.

”What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me” Tony says, still gasping for air.

”We won” Steve said after a few seconds, looking off into the distance. 

“All right, yay! Hurray. Good job, guys. Let’s just not come in tomorrow. Let’s just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I want to try it” Tony says.

”We’re not finished yet” Thor says ominously.   
  
He was right, they all still had to deal with Loki before they could say that they were finished.

”And then shawarma after” Tony adds. 

~~~*~~~

After Loki was back in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, the team did visit the shawarma joint that Tony spoke of. They mainly ate in silence, none of them knowing what they could or should say to any of the others. Asta appreciated the silence, it was a calm after the chaos that they had endured in the last twenty-four hours. There was still the discussion to be had about whether or not Loki was to be tried here on Midgard or on Asgard but, despite where her brother was going, Asta knew that she had to return home. The Tesseract also belonged on Asgard, something that they would have to bring back with them. Odin would he cross with both Thor and Asta if they didn’t bring Loki back and would be even more enraged if they didn’t come back at all.   
  
“So, Thor, Asta, are you two planning on returning to Asgard?” Steve asks, for some reason trying to make small talk. 

“Our father is expecting our return, so yes” Asta replies.

The whole time she spoke, Asta could feel Tony’s eyes on her. They were sitting on opposite sides of the table so it was only polite that he look at her as she spoke but she felt as though the look had more meaning then just politeness. Despite this, she elected to ignore it and she continued eating. 

“What about Loki?” Agent Barton asks.

”And the Tesseract?” Agent Romanoff asks almost immediately after. 

“The Tesseract belongs on Asgard and Loki will face Asgardian justice” Thor says, giving his sister a sideways glance.

She arched a brow at him, not understanding what his look was for. The table had since fallen silent, none of the Midgardians knowing what to say back to Thor. They all continued to eat in silence, none of them now feeling the need to say anything. She soon finished her food, actually enjoying her first Midgardian meal. She tried to compare the shawarma to anything that they have on Asgard but her mind was coming up blank. It was certainly a notably way to end her first visit to Midgard, that’s for sure.  
  
A deep sigh from across the table drew Asta’s attention. It came from Tony, who was starting to stand from his seat. He looked her straight in the eye before he spoke.

”Blondie, can we chat outside for a sec?” He asks.

Asta takes note of the confused looks on her teammates faces, and the surprisingly calm look on her brother’s, after Tony spoke. She simply nodded her head before following him outside of the shawarma joint. She could tell that he was nervous, an emotion that she had yet to see from him. He was looking everywhere except for at her.

”What did you want to talk to me about, Tony?” She asks.

“When was the last time you looked at the name on your arm?” He asks bluntly, now deciding to look her in the eye.

Thats when it all hit her; why he looked so startled when she introduced herself, why he nearly ignored her on the Helicarrier, why Thor seemed overly eager to get them introduced. They both knew and they just left her in the dark to slowly figure it out on her own. Asta hadn’t thought about the name on her wrist in years, wanting to forget the notion of soulmates entirely for nearly half of her life. Now her soulmate stood right before her and she was a complete idiot. How could Thor, her brother and possible closest friend, not tell her as soon as they arrived on the Helicarrier? 

”It’s yours” Asta says quietly after a moment.

They look at each other silently for a little while, neither of them knowing what to do in this situation. 

“You didn’t realize that til just now, did you?” Tony asks with a light chuckle.

”No, I didn’t. I gave up looking after the first few centuries of nothing there” Asta says mournfully.

”Centuries? Just how old are you and Thor?” Tony asks with an unreadable expression on his face.   
  
“Thor’s 1,047 and I’m ten years younger then him” Asta says.

Tony’s eyes widen before he chuckles a little bit.

”And here I thought I was the one robbing the cradle” He laughs.   
  
As a perk of being Asgardian and having access to Idunn’s apples, both Thor and Asta have maintained the appearance of being in their early to mid twenties for a millennia and given or take some years. Asta simply rolls her eyes at him. 

“Very funny” Asta says sarcastically.

”So you’re going back to Asgard, huh?” He asks, changing the subject.

”Yes, my father hardly let me left in the first place” Asta replies.

”Is there any way that you can prolong your visit?” Tony asks.

”If my brothers return with the Tesseract? No, Odin would have my head” She says.

He looks down at the ground, a slightly defeated look taking hold of his face. For some reason, probably their minuscule soul bond, Asta instantly hated seeing him like that. If she were to go back to Asgard and not return, she would be giving up her chance to be able to see her soulmate so she has to find a way. She’ll find a way to be able to come back to Midgard once everything has blown over. 


	8. she

**2012**

**Stark Tower, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America, Midgard**

_“So you’re a man who has everything....and nothing”_

Ever since Asta, Thor, and Loki all returned to Asgard, Yinsen’s long ago spoken words hardly left Tony’s mind. He didn’t know the next time that he would be able to see his soulmate and they had only known each other for a day or so. Rebuilding the tower could only keep his mind occupied for so long before his thoughts would start to wander. It had been a few months since the siblings had left and being parted from her was getting more difficult each day.

Tony, from a young age, never placed too much faith in soulmates and would rather live life as he would like too, not follow a guidebook sent down from the universe. By the time that he and Asta were ‘brought together’, he had long past given up looking for his other half. He had more important things to do then mope around looking for one singular person.   
  
“You’re moping again” Pepper says as she approached him. 

Tony snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the red haired woman as she approached. There was no way that he was going to admit to her that he, technically, was moping.   
  
“I don’t mope, Pepper, I just was thinking” Tony replied. 

“It seemed like you were moping” Bruce chimes in. 

Tony shot a joking glare at the scientist, prompting him to return to his work. 

Following the defeat of the Chitauri and the disbandment of the Avengers, Bruce had moved into Stark Tower. He spent most of his days in either his room or one of the labs working on a miscellaneous project with Tony. The pair had easily become good friends, mainly because they didn’t speak to many other people on a daily basis and their shared interests. No one from S.H.I.E.L.D. has contacted either of them ever since the fight was done so they were laying low for as long as they could. 

“Anyway, what can we do for you Pepper?” Tony asked, giving her a somewhat forced smile. 

She visited the tower at least once a day, either running business ideas by Tony or checking in on how the remodeling is coming along. Stark Industries had been in her hands for awhile so Tony had nothing to worry about but he did appreciate knowing what Pepper was planning on doing as CEO. 

“I’m planning on heading out of town for a few days for a conference, are you in dire need of anything before I go?” Pepper asks.

”I’m good” Tony says.   
  
She nods her head before turning on her heel and leaving the room as quickly as she came. Tony sighed and sat down at the desk a few feet away from where he previously was standing. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Bruce asks.

”Talk about what?” Tony replies, giving Bruce a confused look.

”What you’re always moping about” He says.

”What is there to say? I blew my chance with her because I was too shocked to say anything” Tony sighs, squeezing the bridge of his nose.

Tony didn’t mention that Asta was his soulmate to anyone until after he spoke to her about it and even after that he’s only spoken to Bruce, Pepper, and Rhodey about her. With everything going on with Loki, the Chitauri, and the Tesseract he barely got an opportunity to speak to her about it, let alone anyone else. 

”You didn’t blow your chance with her, Tony. She’ll come back” Bruce says, trying to comfort his friend.

”You don’t know that for sure, Banner.” Tony says, frowning.

”Whether we like it or not, the world is going to need the Avengers again and she’s a member just like you and I. And who knows, maybe she’ll come back on her own” Bruce says optimistically. 

“At least one of us is optimistic. Let’s get back to work” Tony says.

Bruce nods his head and returns his attention to the computer in front of him. Tony sighs to himself, he wishes that he could share his friends optimism but it wasn’t that simple. Every fiber of his being was screaming that he lost her, that he lost the one chance he had with his soulmate. But maybe Bruce was right, maybe there would be a time where Asta would return to Earth, and to him.   
  
He really was a man with nothing and he could feel it.


	9. sign of the times

**2012  
Asgard **

From the moment that she returned home with her brothers, Asta wanted nothing more then to return to Midgard. Although she thoroughly enjoys spending time with her mother and her friends, her mind was filled with thoughts of the opportunity she had waiting for her. The very person she waited and prayed for, her soulmate, and she simply allowed her fear of her father to be the reason stopping her return to him. It was no secret to Odin that she had met her soulmate when she was on Midgard, all thanks to Thor and his metaphorical big mouth, but he simply wouldn’t have a conversation on the matter. When Tony’s name first appeared on Asta’s wrist, there was no mistaking that the holder of the name was Midgardian and Odin didn’t hide his disgust at that fact. He believed that, whether he was her soulmate or not, Asta was too good to engage in a relationship with someone from Midgard.   
  
Asta knew that it was simply a lost cause for her to ask her father to return to Midgard, even if Thor and her mother helped to try to convince him. Unlike with her brothers, Odin kept a restrictive eye over Asta at all times and had done so ever since she was a child. Neither of her brothers or her mother could explain his behavior or convince him to explain himself so she dealt with it her entire life. 

And now he was forcing both her and Thor to attend a Gala in his honor tonight. Asta has attended countless events such as these during her lifetime as princess of Asgard but they never ceased to bore her. Both her parents told her to wear something special, something new to the event tonight and she was having a terrible time picking something out. She hasn’t gone to the royal tailor in months and she’s worn all of her formal evening dresses to social events before.

_Knock. Knock. Knock_

Asta sighs in relief, mentally thanking whoever is on the other side of the door for giving her a break from staring at too many different types of fabric.

”Come in!” She calls loud enough for the other person to hear. 

The main door to her chambers open and close quickly, the sound of footsteps drawing closer to Asta as the person approaches her closet. She looks over her shoulder and sees Sif slowly approaching her. The other woman was dressed in an elegant yet simple black dress, fitting for the nights event. After knowing each other for centuries, Asta could tell that Sif despised being in the dress instead of her normal armor but she would have to deal for the night. As the future queen of Asgard, she would have to retire from adventuring with Thor and the Warriors Three eventually and focus on the social elements of nobility. Not an easy feat, especially for Sif as that’s practically all she’s known her entire life.

“Hello, Sif. What can I do for you?” Asta asks, frowning in the direction of her wardrobe.

”The queen sent me to check in on you, the guests will be arriving soon” Sif says as she stops next to the princess.

Asta scoffed.

Of course Frigga would send someone else to check in on her. Social events always did effect her in that way, making her send everyone and anyone to do simple tasks. She did have the reputation of the Asgardian royal family to manage, after all, and with the recent scandals involving Loki everyone else has to be perfect to make up for his misdoings. The Warriors Three are probably going to check in with Thor as requested by her, if they hadn’t done so already. 

“I’m almost done, you can go if you’d like” Asta says with a forced smile.   
  
She looks back into her wardrobe and spies an emerald dress. Asta grabs it and walks over to her bed to lay it out, Sif remaining where she was. 

”You do know that I can read you like a book, right?” Sif asks, placing a hand on her hip.

Asta decidedly keeps her eyes on the dress in front of her, almost ignoring Sif’s comment altogether. 

“Yes, and how is that relevant?” She retorts.

”Because no one here wants to see you suffer, Asta. Thor and I both know that you wish to return to Midgard, that you couldn’t care less about tonight’s gala” Sif says.

Asta spins around to level a look at one of her closest friends. It really was obvious that she wanted to return to Midgard, anyone could tell you that, but it didn’t help the situation. Odin would rather Asta be miserable then allow her to return to Midgard, either alone or with any type of escort. She was lucky that he allowed her to go at all.

“Regardless of whether or not I would like to return, Father would never allow it” Asta replies, frowning.

”How do you know that? Asta, if you ask them Thor and I will support you and try to convince Odin with you” Sif said.

”Even if I can bring about the courage to ask him, it won’t be tonight or anytime soon. There’s seemingly no end to the social events that he and Mother have planned” Asta sighs.

”The last dinner they have scheduled with the nobles is set for next week. After that we’ll help you convince him, you have my word” Sif vows.

”Thank you, sister. Can you help me pick out a dress?” Asta laughs.

Sif chuckles and nods her head. 

Asta sighs, looking away from both Sif and the dress that she previously picked out. Even if they were to, somehow, convince Odin to allow her to return to Midgard how long would that visit last? How many times would they have to do this? If he’ll even allow her to return in the first place. If he doesn’t, she’ll find a way to return. Asta’s waited so long to have a soulmate and she’s not willing to give that up just because her father isn’t allowing her to go. 


	10. ever since new york

**2012**

**Stark Tower, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America, Midgard**

Despite the sudden war with Loki and his Chitauri army being over, the Avengers that remained on Earth had to help pick up the pieces. Stark Tower and the city were in the midst of remodeling, the world at large was still reeling from the knowledge that extraterrestrial life does in fact exist, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was trying to tie up any and all lose ends that Loki caused. Needless to say, things have been hectic in Manhattan for seemingly ages now.   
  
Following in Bruce’s footsteps, Steve has also moved into Stark Tower. Clint and Natasha were almost always in the building as well so the majority of the team was together at all times. Deep down, Tony liked it that way. Seeing the team go from mainly a group of complete strangers to an actual team warmed Tony’s heart, the one he sometimes still denies having. There was still the hole left behind by Thor and Asta but if the team ever needed to be officially assembled again they would know it and they would come back, or at least Tony hopes that they would.

A day hasn’t passed ever since they met where Tony hasn’t thought about Asta. She was his soulmate so that much was expected but he never planned on meeting her like that. And he never expected for her to be, more or less, an alien princess practically straight out of legend. He couldn’t help but feel like the chance to be with her was gone, and that he would never be able to see her again. 

Tony sighed.

He spent most of his days overlooking the city, watching the rebuilding process. The remodeling of Stark Tower, now more aptly named Avengers Tower, ceases only a few days previous so less was going on inside of it. He still occasionally worked on projects with Bruce and listened to Steve babble on about the wonders of modern technology and whatever people his age like to speak about but he typically spent his days alone. Ever since Pepper and Happy got engaged he didn’t see the two of them as much, outside of work hours anyways, and Rhodey hardly came around to the tower in the first place. 

“Sir?” JARVIS’ mechanized voice says, breaking the silence.

Just like at his private home in Miami, JARVIS is programmed into the tower and intercoms are set up in every room. The intercoms can also be used to communicate with other people in different rooms.

”Speak to me, JARVIS” Tony replies.

”Your presence is being asked for in the main lobby, sir” JARVIS said.

”By who?” He asked.

”Captain Rogers and Doctor Banner” the AI responds.

Tony shoves down a groan before he begins to make his way down to the main lobby. As far as he can remember, there’s no reason why either Bruce or Steve should need him to go to the main lobby. Tony walked down the hallway and towards the elevator, not feeling like taking the stairs down to the main lobby today. He crossed his arms in front of his chest as he entered the elevator, pressing the main lobby button after a long second. 

Maybe it has to do with something related to S.H.I.E.L.D and that’s why all three of them are needed in the lobby? No, if it was S.H.I.E.L.D. they would have just found Tony wherever he was in the tower and then explain whatever they have to explain. 

The elevator beeped when it got to the main floor, it’s doors slowly sliding open. Tony exits the elevator and walks down the small hallway that leads to the main lobby. He can hear a few people talking, a couple of the voices familiar while he doesn’t recognize a few others. He turns the corner and nearly stopped dead in his tracks. Past Steve and Bruce stood Asta, along with Thor and four other presumed Asgardians that Tony didn’t recognize. There were three men and one woman, all of them dressed in armor similar to the type worn by Thor and Asta. 

“You guys are having a party without me?” Tony asks as he walks over to them. 

Steve and Bruce turn around to look at Tony as he approached, the Asgardians whispering amongst themselves. He sees the woman he doesn’t recognize harshly elbow one of the men in the stomach after he said something to her, Asta simply shaking her head at the pair of them.

”Of sorts” Bruce mutters, obviously uncomfortable with the strangers being there. 

“Ah, Stark, we’ve been waiting for you” Thor says, speaking for his group.

”I’m honored” Tony retorted.

”Now is no time for jokes, Tony. We are here as an official envoy for Asgard” Asta says, giving him a slight frown.

He could tell that there was something off in her tone, as if she was being pressured to act in a formal way. He would have to ask her about that later, if she were to stay. 

”Aw, I just thought you missed me” Tony says with a wink in her direction.

”Enough, Tony. We still need to get introductions in order” Steve says, frowning at him. 

“Very well, my name is Sif and these are the Warriors Three; Fandrall, Hogan, and Volstagg. Asta has spoken about all of you in very high regard” The woman says, quickly starting and finishing the introductions. 

“And you’re on official business from Asgard?” Steve asks.

”We’re here to protect the princess and her soulmate” The blonde Asgardian man, Fandrall said.

Asta quickly looked over at the Asgardian with an unreadable look at her face, the others in their party quickly following suit. Steve, Tony, and Bruce were all equally as stunned at his blunt honesty about what brought them back to Earth. 

”Her soulmate? That’s none of us, right Tony.....” Steve trailed off, his eyes slowly widening as he made the connection. 

“Yeah, kinda forgot to mention it” Tony says to Steve. 

“We’re also here to help assist in the fallout that our brother left behind” Thor says, drawing back Tony and Steve’s attention. 

“You’re all welcome to stay here as long as you’d like, there are plenty of rooms” Tony says.

”Steve, can you update the Warriors Three and I on S.H.I.E.L.D. activities?” Thor asks.

”Of course, follow me” Steve says.

The captain leads Thor and the three other Asgardian men out of the lobby. As they leave, Tony notices Thor whisper something to Asta that made her facial expression change to something unreadable. The lobby is silent for a few moments as Asta, Sif, Tony, and Bruce all stood there without knowing what to say next.

”Bruce, Sif, do you mind giving me and Tony a moment?” Asta asks the two others remaining with them.

”Of course, I can’t promise that I’ll be too far away” Sif replies, walking away from the other woman.

”I can take care of myself, Sif” Asta says with a fond look on her face.

”I know. Doctor, do you mind showing me around?” Sif asks Bruce.

”Oh uh sure, follow me” Bruce says after a moment.

The pair quickly leave the lobby, finally leaving Asta and Tony alone. She slowly walks over to him, a look of trepidation on her face.

”I thought your dad didn’t like you leaving?” Tony asks, trying to start a conversation with her.

”He doesn’t” She replies, stopping only a few feet away from him.

”Then how did you get here?” Tony asks with a look of bewilderment on his face.   
  
“Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three helped me to convince him to allow me to come back. He doesn’t look very highly on you Midgardians” Asta says with a small frown.

”Midgardians?” Tony asks.

He could see her basically repress the urge to roll her eyes, something that made him almost smile. 

”On Asgard we call Earth Midgard, making you a Midgardian” Asta explains.

”Why does dear old dad have a problem with us then?” Tony asks, not knowing if he wants the answer or not.

”Odin doesn’t look highly upon anything that isn’t of Asgard, nothing personal I suppose” Asta says.

”And does me being your soulmate not help my cause?” Tony asks with a small laugh.

She looks at him directly in the eyes then, almost as if she wasn’t expecting him to bring it up. After a moment she shook her head and laughed.

”I don’t know, Tony, I don’t” She laughs.

”Am I ever going to meet your parents?” Tony asks, somewhat seriously.

That question made Asta quickly stop laughing and she looked down at the ground before looking him in the eye again.

”I suppose you’ll have too, eventually” Asta said.

”Eventually”


End file.
